Covered box and method



Filed Aug. 2, 1950 IH. RMCGovl-:RN v

COVERED BOX AND METHOD WJW March 29, 1932J lll/(1111111111151 Patented Mar. 29, 1932 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY P. MCGOVERN, OF FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T DENNISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS covEnEn Box AND luuszrison Application led August 2, 1930. Serial No. 472,543.

This invention relates to a method of manufacture and also to containers or boxes formed from a blank of bendable material such as cardboard and having a covering of suitable material applied in a substantially continuous and unbroken strip across the cover and on to the body of the box. Covering materials suitable for this purpose usually comprise relatively thin sheets of paper which are selected primarily for their decorative value. While the covering material may also be utilized for holding the formed blank infthe desired shape, thismaterial is not adapted to withstand repeated bending such as occurs when a cover of a box is opened or closed. For this reason as well as to expedite manufacture the cardboard or other blank is frequently formed with the cover as an integral part thereof so that ,the bending stresses incident to opening and closing of the cover will be imposed 'directly on the heavier cardboard material which is better adapted to this use.

When this is done however it is found that opening `and closing of the cover usually results in rupture of the more delicate covering materials when these consist of ordinary paper. It is undesirable to score or otherwise cut through the surface of the covering material along the edge of the cover lwhere the latter joins the box body as this would detract from the appearance of the finished article and would also make it possible for the covering to separate from the box body and' thus further to detract from the appearance of the box even after a relatively slight period of use. For these reasons it has'been thought, heretofore, that only crinkled or like papers, which are inherently capable of suficient expansion to avoid rupture under these conditions, could be used as covering material for boxes of the class described.

Objects of the present invention are to provide an improved container of the cla-ss de. scribed as well as to improve the method of making the same so as to overcome the above mentioned difficulties; and also to provide a box having a cover integral therewith and having a well fitting covering applied across the 'cover and onto the body of the box with the various parts so constructed and arranged relatively to each other as to 'avoid breaking the covering material.

In the drawings: y

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a completed box in fully open position;

Fig. 3 is an end view partially in elevation and partially in section showing a. modiication of the box of Fig. 2 with the cover in partially closed position;

Flg. 4 is a section taken substantially along l the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;' and Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional elevations illustrating diii'erent forming operations.

According to the present invention a box may be made from a one-piece blank indicated generally at in Fig. 1 and having bottom wall and-top wall sections 11 and 12 which are formed integral with a common side wall section 13. The bottom wall section 11 has end side Wall portions 14 and 16 integral with the opposite ends thereof and an outer side wall portion 17 extends along the outer side of this. bottom wall, these parts being so arranged that the outer side wall 17 and the two end walls 14 and 16 may be turned upwardly to form the body portion of the box.v .Similarly the top wall section 12 has end wall portions 18 and 19 and an out-er side wall portion 21 which may be turned upwardly to form the cover portion of the box. Preferably the top wall section 12 is enough longer than the bottom section 11 to permit the end walls 18 and 19 to it outside of the end walls 14 and 16 when the box is completed as shown in Fig. 3. In order to facilitate forming the box it is desirable that the blank 10 be scored along the lines 14', 17, 16', '19', 21', and 18', the scores 18 and 19 beingloset slightly in order properly are substantially even with the adjacent end Walls 14, 18 and 16,19. In the latter case the extended ends of the section 13 could be slitted to separate them from the aforementioned end walls,- or the extended portions could be formed integral with one pair of end Walls all in a manner well understood in this art. After the blank has/"been formed as shown in Fig. 1 the various side and end wallswith the exception of the common side wall 13 may be turned up as indicated in Fig. 2 and a sheet of covering material 22 may beapplied, by means of suitable adhesive or lue, to the entire exterior surface of the box.

his sheet of coverin material preferably is turned in over the e ges of the variousv side walls as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the covering material being lapped at the corners of the cover and of the body portions of the box as indicated at 23 in Fig. 4 so that after the covering material has been applied the box becomes form retaining. Moreover, the intermediate section 13 may be curved transversely so as to be outwardly convex as indicated inl Fig. 3, should this form of box be desired.

VThe various steps in forming a box as thus far described maybe performed by machines which turn in the edges of the covering material during the forming operation as illustrated in Fig. 5. This View illustrates the final step in applying the covering material, the box being supported upon a suitable bed 24 while a reciprocating head 26 moves down into the box to turn down the marginal portions 27 of the covering material and to press these against the various side and end walls so that the adhesive employed may form a firm bond between these marginal portions and the body of the box. .It will be understood that when the intermediate section 13 is to be curved, as shown in Fig. 3, a complementary recess and a projection will be provided in the base 24 and on the head 26 respectively.

At this stage in the manufacture the covering material 22 may be creased into the body of the blank soas to form inwardly creased longitudinal edges 28, 29 (Fig. 3) about which the cover portion 12 and the side wall 13 may be turned. For this purpose the bed 24 may be provided with spaced ridges 31, 32,

. these ridges being formed with rounded upper edges so as not to cut thecovering material as the head 26 is pressed against the bed 24 to form the creases. Preferably the head 26 is also provided with complementary recesses 33 and 34 to receive extruded portions of the body of the blank as the ridges.31 and 32 function to crease the covering material and to force the juxtaposed portions ofthe blank upwardly. Ordinarily in the manufacture of boxes 'of this character the head 26, which is used primarily for turning in the marginal portions 27, is notadapted to exert a very Leanne box is to be -embossed or printed. As shown in Fig. 6 the box has been transferred, after thewrapping and forming operations have been completed, to a bed 36 and a reciprocating head 37 has moved down into the box to press the latter against the ridges 38 and 39 which are similar in all respects to the ridges 3l and32 shown in Fig. 5. At this time however a label 41 is embossed or printed as it is appliedto the cover of the box and this operation in itself requires considerable pressure. It will be seen that by performing both the embossing or printing and the creasing operations at the same time adequate pressure for the creasing is assured without imposing excessive stress on, the box forming apparatus. From the above description it will be clear that while the creasing may be done separately, this operation may advantageously be combined with embossing, with the application of an embossed label or o`f an embossed and printed label or the creasing may be combined merely with printing. The head 37 is also preferably provided with complementary recesses 42 and 43 which receive material of the blank as the latter is pressed upwardly by the underlying ridges 38 and 39.

It will be seen that the completed box has a pair of creases 28 and 29which are formed' in the covering material and also in the body of the box to constitute inwardly creased edge portions about which the cover and the side wall 13 may be turned. On the inner side of the box directly opposite these inwardly directed creases the body material has been extruded to form protruding ridges 44, 46 (Fig. 2). Due to this construction there is turning axis of the cover and of the side wall 13 so that these members may be turned freely without danger of Abreaking or rupturing the covering material however delicate the latter may be. It is desirable to form the protruding ridges 44 and 46 on"the inner surface of the box as these ridges reduce th amount of material which must be compressed in turning the cover and side wall 13 and also reduce the tendency to impose excessive stress on the covering material asthe latter is drawn taut across the turning edge. Vhile the creases on the outer side of the box may be made of sufficient depth to avoid breaking the covering material even when always adequate covering material at the the box is formed without the ridges 44 and p Fig. 5 or at some later time as in Fig. 6 after-- It will also be observed that yside wall integral with the cover and with the binding material has set. This is possible due to the fact that the creases and ridges are formed merely by corrugating or bending the box without appreciably stretching or elongating either tle paper covering or the juxtaposed body portion of the box.

I claim 1. The method of making a box of the class described which comprises forming ablank of the desired shape for the box body, forming a cover portion integral with'thebody portion of the blank, applying a substantially continuous and unbroken sheet of covering material across the cover portion and onto the body portion lof the blank, and creasing the covering material inwardly toward the blank to form an inwardly creased edge in the surface which is to form the exterior of the box and about which the cover may be swung during opening and closing thereof. f

2. Themethod of making a box of the class described which comprises forming a blank of the desired shape for the/box body, forming the cover portion integral with the body portion of the blank, applying a substantially continuous and unbroken sheet of covering material across the cover portion and onto the body portion of the blank, creasing the covering material inwardly into the blank from the side thereof which is to form the exterior of the box and simultaneously extruding material from the opposite side of the blank directly opposite the crease to form an extruded ridge which is substantially parallel to the crease.

3. The method of making a box of the class described which comprises forming a blank having integral box body and cover portions, reparing a sheet of covering Inaterial to t the blank, ailixing the covering material to the blank by applying adhesive 'between these parts, allowin the adhesive to set, and creasing the covering material inwardly into the blank to form an inwardly creased edge in the surface which is to form the exterior of the box and about which thev parts, allowing the adhesive to set, creasing the coveringmaterial inwardly into the blank from the side thereof which is to form the exterior of the box, and simultaneously extruding material from the opposite side of the blank directly opposite the crease to form an extruded ridge which is substantially parallel to the crease.

5. The method of making a box having va l the body portionsof .the box which comprises.

forming a blank having integral box body, side wall and cover portions, applying a sheet of covering material across the side wall and onto the box`body and cover portions joined thereto, and creasing the covering material inwardly into the blank fromthe side thereof which is to form the exterior of the box to form a pair of inwardly creased edges which 'cover portion and onto the body portion of the blank, and simultaneously embossing the cover and creasing the covering material inwardly into the blank to form an inwardly creased edge in the surface which is to form the exterior of the box and about which the cover-may be swung.

7. A box comprising a bottom, side walls extending about the bottom, a cover integral with one of the side walls, and a sheet of covering material aflixed to the cover and the said one of the side walls, the box having a crease on the outer side thereof and extending between the latter side wall and the cover, the covering material having a similar crease registering with and lying within the firstmentioned crease.

8. A box comprising a bottom, side walls extending about the bottom, a cover integral with one of the side walls, and a sheet of covering material aiiixed to the cover and to said one of the side walls, the box having a crease on the outer side thereof and extending between the latter side wall and the cover, the covering material having a similar crease'registering with and lying within the first-mentioned crease, the material of the box on the inner side thereof directly opposite the latter crease being extruded in the form of a ridge upper and lower edges of said one side wall,

Ithe covering material having similar creasesv registering with and disposed within the firstmentione creases.

10. A box comprising a bottom, side walls integral with f the bottom, a cover integral with one of the side walls, and a substantially continuous sheet of covering material aiiixed to the cover, to said one of the side walls and lll - material of the box on the inner side thereof.

to the bottom, the box having upper and lower creases defining the upper and lower ed es of said one side wall, the covering materia having similar creases registering lwithand disposed within the irst-mentioned creases, th directly opposite the creases protruding in the form of ridges extending substantially parallel to the creases.

11. A box comprising a bottom, a side wall integral therewith, a cover integral with the side Wall, side walls on the cover and depending toward the bottom, and a sheet of covering material aixed to the cover, the first-men tioned side wall and to the bottom, the box having upper and lower creases in the outer sides thereof defining the vupper and lower edges of the latter side wall, the covering material having similar creases registering with and disposed within the aforementioned creases.

12. A box comprising a box body portion, a cover integral therewith, a sheet of covering material affixed to the outer side of the cover and to the exterior of the box body portion,

and embossments on the covering material and on the cover, the box havin a crease on the outer side thereof and exten ing between the box bod and the cover, the covering material also aving a crease registering with and disposed within the former crease.v

13. A box blank comprising integral box body and cover portions, covering material aixed to the blank, the `blank and the coverv ing material having registering superimposed creases extending inwardly from' the side which is to form the exterior of the box, said crease providing an edge along which the cover may be folded toward the box body portion.

Signed b me at Framingham, Massachusetts, this t irtv-frst day of July, 1930.

HENRYl P. MCGOVERN. 

